Are You Ready?

This past Wednesday began the season of preparation for Easter, which on the church calendar is known as Lent. Most evangelical groups like Baptists have not been participants in the Lenten journey. But that lack of participation has tended to change in recent years. More and more evangelicals are beginning to see the value in spending time in reflection and repentance as preparation for celebrating Easter. At First Baptist, we have practiced our preparation in small ways, primarily through various Holy Week activities and our Tenebrae service on Good Friday, which we will do again on April 2.

 

But in addition to our Good Friday schedule, we’re encouraging a daily reflection on Easter preparation that we’re calling “Are You Ready for Easter?” If you go to our web site, you’ll see a daily devotion that will enable you to focus your thoughts each day on how you might better prepare yourself for the good news of Easter. Then, beginning on Palm Sunday, March 28, I’ll do a Holy Week blog that I hope will encourage you to follow in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary and then to Easter glory. Each of our worship services during this time, beginning on March 14, will be organized around passages in the Gospel of Mark that address issues of importance for disciples who are serious about taking up their crosses and following after Jesus.

 

My concern is that because time gets away from us and things are upon us before we know it, Easter can arrive without our really having given it much thought whatsoever. I think you’ll agree that letting that happen would be worse than a shame; it would also be a disgrace, especially considering all that God gave for us and the depth of joy we can experience if only we’ll make the effort to prepare our hearts to receive all that God is yet to give to those who are serious about accepting it.